Primary head's pay passes £200,000

The executive headteacher of a primary academy enjoyed a salary in excess of £200,000 last year after being handed a massive pay rise, official accounts show.

Sir Greg Martin, executive head of Durand Academy in south London, saw his salary increase by around 56% in 2013 to a total of £200,822 - meaning he was earning more than the Prime Minister.

Durand Academy is a state academy - a school that is not under local council control and has freedom over areas such as curriculum and staff pay - and is run by the Durand Academy Trust. It was judged to be good by Ofsted following an inspection in December.

It caters for five-to-11-year-olds, has a middle school for 12-to-13-year-olds and an early-years centre for under-fives. The school is attempting to set up a state secondary boarding school for 13-to-18-year-olds in West Sussex.

Figures included in the Trust's annual accounts for 2013 show that Sir Greg's salary rose 56.5% from £128,322 in 2012.

In comparison, David Cameron earns around £142,500.

In addition to his salary, Sir Greg, who was knighted in last year's birthday honours for services to education, also received £28,316 in pension contributions last year. Combined with his salary, this took his overall remuneration package for 2013 to £229,138.

The document also shows that Nathalie Parker, the academy's acting headteacher, was given a salary of between £115,000 and £120,000 last year.

Data published by the Department for Education (DfE) last month show that the average salary for a leadership teacher in a primary academy stands at £53,000.

A Durand Academy spokesman said: "Durand's Executive Head does not just run a primary school, but now oversees an Early Years school, a Junior School, a Middle School which opened in September 2012 and also leads the development of Durand's pioneering plans for a state boarding school for its intake in West Sussex.

"With more than 1,000 children being educated across three school sites, it is a hugely demanding role and Governors are proud and privileged to retain the services of such an experienced and dedicated education leader. Children's outstanding attainment in this year's SATs is testament to his enduring positive impact."

Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) said: " It is remarkably hard to see how this can possibly be justified in a publicly funded school when those employed in the public sector are still restricted to a 1% pay rise."

Comments

amazing when we are churning children with no respect for others , educational standards at an all time low and the taxpayer is funding outrages like this.

amazing when we are churning children with no respect for others , educational standards at an all time low and the taxpayer is funding outrages like this.beach1e

amazing when we are churning children with no respect for others , educational standards at an all time low and the taxpayer is funding outrages like this.

Score: 2

Jackaranda
5:50pm Wed 7 May 14

beach1e wrote…

amazing when we are churning children with no respect for others , educational standards at an all time low and the taxpayer is funding outrages like this.

Yes, but he is an 'executive' headteacher after all!!

[quote][p][bold]beach1e[/bold] wrote:
amazing when we are churning children with no respect for others , educational standards at an all time low and the taxpayer is funding outrages like this.[/p][/quote]Yes, but he is an 'executive' headteacher after all!!Jackaranda

beach1e wrote…

amazing when we are churning children with no respect for others , educational standards at an all time low and the taxpayer is funding outrages like this.

Yes, but he is an 'executive' headteacher after all!!

Score: 1

TheCaveman
8:28pm Wed 7 May 14

How on earth can this be justified for what is, after all, money from the public purse supporting the overgrown playpens he oversees?

I regularly help a 16 year old with their homework and revision - I was at school back in the 70's, one of the first 'comprehensive' school years and reckon I just scraped in before the rot. I'm appalled at how little they are expected to know these days - and this student gets A's. No wonder Britain is in decline in the world academic market.

How on earth can this be justified for what is, after all, money from the public purse supporting the overgrown playpens he oversees?
I regularly help a 16 year old with their homework and revision - I was at school back in the 70's, one of the first 'comprehensive' school years and reckon I just scraped in before the rot. I'm appalled at how little they are expected to know these days - and this student gets A's. No wonder Britain is in decline in the world academic market.TheCaveman

How on earth can this be justified for what is, after all, money from the public purse supporting the overgrown playpens he oversees?

I regularly help a 16 year old with their homework and revision - I was at school back in the 70's, one of the first 'comprehensive' school years and reckon I just scraped in before the rot. I'm appalled at how little they are expected to know these days - and this student gets A's. No wonder Britain is in decline in the world academic market.

Score: 0

Devils Advocate
9:25pm Wed 7 May 14

Fits in just fine with the local councils. It's public money. Who cares? Well, apart of course, from the public.

Fits in just fine with the local councils. It's public money. Who cares? Well, apart of course, from the public.Devils Advocate

Fits in just fine with the local councils. It's public money. Who cares? Well, apart of course, from the public.

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